The regent led her to a small craft that resembled a dolphin. It was curved to a point in the front, with fins on both sides, and a longer one at the back.
"In you go," he said, propelling her through the hatch and into the craft. The two guards followed, taking seats at the back.
X stationed himself in one of the two front seats, then pointed to the seat beside him. He pushed a few buttons on the console, then grabbed the stick and glanced over at her.
"Ready for take-off?"
Sylvie nodded, bracing herself. The lift-off was so gentle that she wouldn't have noticed they were moving if not for the front viewport. The small craft joined a line of similar ships before an aperture that seemed to separate the inside from the ocean outside.
"Why isn't this chamber filling with water?" she asked as they approached the aperture.
"Force fields hold the water back but let the ships through."
"Force fields like the planetary defense shield?"
"The same technology, yes."
Her ship had somehow taken down their defense shield, and although she was certain she hadn't done anything intentional to cause the malfunction, there could be something about her biologically that interacted with the field. They'd almost dissected her to find out.
"Wait!" she yelled as their ship moved forward to next in line.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Dr. Cohen. See, all the other ships have made it out fine. You won't even notice when we pass through." X steered the ship toward the aperture.
Sylvie wrapped her arms around herself as fear stung her senses. "But what if it's true? What if there is something about me that disables your shields? This whole hub could be flooded. People could die!"
"My people can take in limited oxygen through their skin. It allows them to be under water for an hour or so at a time before surfacing. Besides, we have safety protocols in place in case of shield failure."
She couldn’t watch. She slipped her hands over her eyes and held her breath, preparing for the worst.
A soft chuckle resounded beside her. "You can open your eyes now. We're through."
Sylvie removed her hands to see that they were coasting through an underwater world. "How did you know I wouldn't cause the shield to fail?"
"I didn't." X was steering the craft through pillars of coral. "But I knew that no one would be injured with the safety protocols we had in place if the shield did fail. What I wasn't sure about was you."
Sylvie stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"If there was something in your biology that you'd engineered to disable our shields, you may have intended to use your special skill here and flood the chamber, thinking you were risking Zantharian lives and wreaking havoc."
He turned to her and she was entranced by the golden glow around his pupils. "Instead, you warned me, and you seemed genuinely concerned about harming my people. The same people who just treated you like a pariah."
X gave her a small smile, then turned his attention back to navigating the craft.
"You were testing me."
He nodded. "And you passed the first test."
First test?So that's what he had planned for the day.
Sylvie wanted to be angry but she couldn't blame him. Seen from his perspective, she wouldn't trust herself either in this situation. Still, it stung a little. She'd trusted him from the first, had known he was someone who would help her, who wouldn't harm her or let her be harmed if he could prevent it.
There was something about him that projected integrity. No wonder his people followed him as Supreme Regent. She thought she might follow him, too.
Or maybe she was just naïve.
Around them the water grew dark. They were entering some sort of underwater cave. Suddenly they surfaced, the lights of the craft illuminating an ancient grotto.
X turned to her, his dark eyes unfathomable. "We're here.”
Where was here?
